Window glass cleaner



Sept. 27, 1955 KlRK 2,718,656

WINDOW GLASS CLEANER Filed March 9, 1950 /8 22 Hill!!! 10 2 7 I) HrroRMEYs vn e sw Pmi 2,718,656 WINDOWGL'ASS CLEANER FrankH. Stamford, Conn.

a "container or the like adapted to he laced against the win'ddwglass, together with in ans for chargin the contai ei with-an air stispen ion of finely divided water particles which can he directed onto the window to peneirate all of the dirt pa 'i'ele's nd wet them. Also, there is a rotating cleaner 'l'libef'tllat rnoves in contact with the glass to loosen the dirt particles. Finally, there is 'a'donhle squeegee arran ement so that the loosened dirt can be scraped fr nt the window when the apparatus is moved either upwardly'or downwardly, as the case may be',"'oii the v 7 The apparatus includes then 'a portable water vapor suspension container, a container for water or othersuitable hing liquid, a-t'nea s toforce the liquid in finel divided form into the-washingcontainer, a ower driven wiper in the container, and opposed squeegees on opposite edgeso'f the containers at'the window may be scraped thereby when the apparatus-is nioved' backward or forward. I

Figure l is a plan view of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation partly broken away, taken approximately on the line 22 ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a frontelevation, showing'the side adapted to be placed 'againstthe window;

Figure4 is an end elevation;

3 Figure-5 is a transverse section through the middle of the apparatus taken on the line 5--5 ofFi'gure 1;

Figure 6 is a sectional view through the washing liquid reservoir showing the capillary liquid pick-up; and

Figure 7 is a section through the jet taken on the line 77 at the upper right corner of Figure 3.

The apparatus is shown here as having a handle or like support generally indicated at 10. This handle may be either short or long, depending upon the requirements of the operator. At the end of the handle, there is a base plate 11 that acts as a mounting means for the remaining parts of the equipment.

The forward face or side of the apparatus is the side that is adapted to be placed against the glass. At this end of the base plate 11, there is a box-like container member 12 closed on all of its sides except for a front opening 13. It has a back wall 14, a top wall 15, a bottom wall 16 and end walls 17 and 18. As illustrated, the bottom wall may have an angular extension 16 that is provided to extend upwardly and outwardly to the lower part of the o ening 13, thereby providing a receptacle 20 in the lower part of the container 12 for a purpose to be described. I

The upper and lower edges of the opening 13 are supplied with rubber Squeegees 21 and 22, respectively. These project forwardly from said edges.

Withinthe container and disposed along the opening 13, there is a rotary scraper or wiper 25. This scraper is generall helical in shape and has stud shafts at its ends moiihti'rigit iii the end walls 17 and 18, respectively, so that it may rotate within the container. One of these stud shafts 26 is mounted in a bearing 27 in the 611517. The other stud shaft 28 has 'a bearing in the end Wall 18', but projects through the end wall and has a pulley or like driving meniber29 on its outer end. i I

The scraper 25 is provided with a plurality of 'flexible wiper edge members 30 that may be preferably made or rubber or equivalent material. As shown in Figure 5, these rubber edges project forwardly from the front-edge of'the eont'ainer 12 so that they contact the window glass with suitable pressure when the cleaning device is placed against the glass. Also, as illustrated in Figure 5, these rubber members may be doubled to obtain a superior ac ion.

In order to deliver moisture in finely divided condition into the container 12, there is a small pump 34 of the centrifugal aspirator type mounted upon the base plate '11 immediately behind the container 12. This pump ineludes a housing having a central inlet opening 35 and an outlet 36, the latter being more or less tangential. An impeller 37 is formed upon a sleeve shaft 38, that extends back from the back wall of the casing. The sleeve shaft 38 fits ever andis pinned to a motor shaft 39 that is driven'by a motor 40. The motor 40 is mounted by-suitable brackets upon the base plate 11. It is preferably an electric motor that may be driven from a suitable source of power. The particular source is not shown other than by power leads 41. They may be connected to an extension cord that is attachable to conventional power outlet in the building, or suitable battery power sources niayb'e mounted upon the apparatus.

The outlet 36 of the impeller is connected by a flexible or other suitable conduit 44 to a jet 45 that is mounted on and extends through the end wall 18 of the container "12. This jet 45 is also connected with a tube 46 that leads into a cleaning liquid supply tank 47 that is attached to the backwall 14 of the container 12. A wick 48 ex- 'tends'frdrn the lower part of the tank 47 through the tube 46 to the interior of the jet 45, where its end is within theflojw path of air delivered from the impeller 34 through the tube 44. i

heretofore indicated, the motor 40 drives the impeller blades It is also designed to drive the rotor 25. To aceofi'rlplish this latter, the shaft 38 has apulley or like ineiiihersu seeur'ed thereon. Also the tank 47 has lugs that support a vertical shaft 51 which has two pulleys 52 and 53 mounted on it. A belt or cord 54 extends around the pulley to the pulley 52, thence around the pulley 29 on the impeller 25, thence back around the pulley 53 to return to the pulley 50. This provides means for driving the rotor 25 at the same time the impeller is operated to feed a stream of water bearing air into the container 12.

Operation The operation of the device is as follows: When the motor is energized, the impeller will operate to deliver a stream of air to the tube 44. In the meanwhile, with a suitable washing liquid (which may be water) in the tank 47, the wick 48 will deliver moisture into the air stream from the impeller at the jet 45. The jet will therefore discharge water laden air lengthwise of the container 12 at one side of and preferably at the upper side of the rotor .25. At the same time, the rotor will be driven by the motor through the connection described.

The user places the container 12 against the Window, preferably in a manner to compress both of the squeegees 21 and 22. The impeller delivers enough water to make the atmosphere in the container, when its opening 13 is closed by the window glass, heavily laden with moisture, which moisture will then deposit or condense onto the window glass area softening the dirt thereon. In the meanwhile, the rotor 25 will rotate, bringing its rubber edges 30 against the glass to loosen and scrape the dirt. A good deal of this dirt will be caused to drop down into the sump 20 within the container 12.

In this operation, the user moves the handle so as to displace the container 12 forwardly or backwardly along the glass. In this, one of the two squeegees 21 or 22, depending upon the angularity at which the user holds the container, will scrape the window in the familiar squeegee fashion, removing wet dirt therefrom. If both squeegees are in contact with the window, the leading one will have substantially no effect on the dirt which is dry outside the area being moistened by the moisture emitting from the opening 13.

The dirt thus scraped from the window then drops down and is conducted by the sloping surface 16' into the sump 20. A continuous drain may be provided for this if desired, but normally it is not necessary as the sump may be drained at any time it becomes filled.

Thus it will be seen that there is a single apparatus for performing all of the cleaning operations on a window or other similar surface that is to be washed. Likewise, the apparatus is effective whether it be moved forwardly or backwardly, since there are two squeegees designed to work equally well. There is an actual moving rotor that supplies the energy to remove the dirt that is moistened quickly, or at least to loosen it so that it can be removed by the relatively slow displacement of the squeegees 21 and 22.

The amount of moisture can be varied to suit the conditions. Also, the cleansing liquid may be any that is desired.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-contained portable cleaning device: including a support, a container on the support having an opening on one side thereof adapted to be disposed against the window or like object to be cleaned, blower means on the support including a motor and an impeller adapted to be actuated by said motor, and a conduit leading from the impeller into the container to deliver air from the impeller into the container, jet means on the conduit to discharge the'air stream into the container under pressure; means carried by said support to supply moisture into the said air stream to load said air stream with moisture, whereby the air stream may convey such moisture onto the surface to be cleaned, fixed flexible blade means adjacent the opening for scraping the surface after it is thus moistened; a rotor scraping means in the container projecting from the opening to scrape the surface to be cleaned and cause debris cleaned from said surface to be directed within the container, and means connecting the rotor to the motor for rotation of the rotor by the motor. 2. A self-contained portable cleaning device: including a support, a container on the support having an opening on one side thereof adapted to be disposed against the window or like object to be cleaned, blower means on the support including a motor and an impeller adapted to be actuated by said motor, and a conduit leading from the impeller into the container to deliver air from the impeller into the container, jet means on the conduit to discharge the air stream into the container under pressure; means carried by said support to supply moisture into the said air stream to load said air stream with moisture, whereby the air stream may convey .such moisture onto the surface to be cleaned, fixed flexible blade means adjacent the opening for scraping the surface after it is thus moistened; a rotor scraping means in the container projecting from the opening to scrape the surface to be cleaned and cause debris cleaned from said surface to be directed within the container, and means connecting the rotor to the motor for rotation of the rotor by the motor, the fixed flexible blade means being disposed across the bottom wall of the opening, and a sump in the container to receive the material scraped thereby from the object to be cleaned.

3. A self-contained portable cleaning device: including a support, a container on the support having an opening on one side thereof adapted to be disposed against the window or like object to be cleaned, blower means on the support including a motor and an impeller, and a conduit leading from the impeller into the container to deliver air from the impeller into the container, jet means on the conduit to discharge the air stream into the container under pressure; moisture supplying means including a water tank carried by said support and a porous wick extending from said tank to said conduit to supply moisture into the said air stream to load said air stream with moisture, whereby the air stream may convey such moisture onto the surface to be cleaned, fixed flexible blade means adjacent the opening for scraping the surface after it is thus moistened; a rotor scraping means in the container projecting from the opening to scrape the surface to be cleaned, and means connecting the rotor to the motor for rotation of the rotor by the motor, the fixed flexible blade means being disposed across the bottom wall of the opening, and a sump in the container to receive the material scraped thereby from the object to be cleaned.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,297,694 Kindling Mar. 18, 1919 1,383,018 Peterson June 28, 1921 1,461,947 Sporer July 17, 1923 1,927,186 Raaen Sept. 19, 1933 2,238,757 Stevason Apr. 15, 1941 2,335,491 Dernikis Apr. 30, 1943 2,384,458 Dubay Sept. 11, 1945 

